Chapter 50: Big Bear

Fang Yue currently lacks nothing more than yang life.

After a night of fighting, his yang life was heavily depleted.

Not to mention practicing the Starfire Heart Method and using the Starfire Blade Technique—both consume yang life.

Therefore, yang life is always better in greater quantity.

Accept the quest.

System Prompt: Congratulations, player, you have accepted the personal quest "Reclaim Black Ember."

Quest Name: Reclaim Black Ember.

Quest Level: Village-Class Superior.

Quest Type: Personal Quest.

Quest Description: Captain Lin Ling demands 【Black Ember】 from you and is willing to offer something of equivalent value.

Quest Reward: Lin Ling's favor +1, unknown.

After accepting the quest, Fang Yue immediately pulled out 1g of 【Black Ember】.

1g of 【Black Ember】 can be exchanged for 10 days of yang life.

And he had a full 16g—wouldn't that be 160 days of yang life? This deal was absolutely worthwhile!

He just didn't know if Captain Lin would still give him the quest.

As Fang Yue was daydreaming about this peach-like fortune, he saw Lin Ling glaring at him with a dark expression.

"Do you think I'm blind? I want the 【Black Ember】 produced by that strange creature after its corpse transformation! By weight, it's at least ten times what you're holding, and far superior in quality."

Huh?

He wanted 10g of Black Ember?

10g for 10 days of yang life—the exchange rate had plummeted to 1:1.

Fang Yue immediately felt displeased.

He'd thought he'd stumbled upon a windfall, only to get a 1:1 exchange? What's the point in that?

Although he still didn't know exactly what 【Black Ember】 was used for, he'd gone through immense hardship to kill the strange creature and accumulate so little—giving it away like this felt like a loss to him.

Instantly, Fang Yue shook his head like a rattle drum.

"No deal!"

System Prompt: Personal quest "Reclaim Black Ember" failed.

System Prompt: 【Guyue Village Guard Captain】 Lin Ling's favor -15.

So fast! So real!

Watching Lin Ling's visibly sour expression, Fang Yue inwardly gasped.

After being refused, Lin Ling stared coldly at Fang Yue, sending a chill down his spine.

Will this guy come kill me during the day?

Fang Yue truly felt uneasy, regretting his hasty words.

This guy's favor just dropped -15 points—he might actually have murderous intent now.

As he was lost in these thoughts, Lin Ling suddenly calmed down and spoke coldly.

"I'm not asking for this Black Ember just for myself—I'm asking for Hua Wuye as well."

"You didn't defeat that strange creature alone; both Hua Wuye and I contributed greatly. I'm not demanding credit for the kill—I'm offering a fair trade for what's rightfully mine, yet you refused me."

"I will report this matter to Lord Han."

"Lord Han is a man of high moral character. No matter how much he once valued you, once he learns your character is flawed, I believe he will immediately abandon you and reassess you entirely."

With those words, Lin Ling turned and walked away without a moment's pause.

"Wait!"

The next instant, Fang Yue's voice rang out.

Fang Yue had only thought of his own interests and hadn't considered this angle.

Lin Ling's words were reasonable—the defeat of the strange creature was not his alone.

Instantly, Fang Yue stepped forward two paces and smiled: "You clearly have no experience in business. What I just did was a tactic—feigning refusal to negotiate. I never meant to refuse you outright."

Business? Negotiation?

Lin Ling's expression turned strange, feeling awkward.

He'd never seen anyone try to haggle over 【Black Ember】.

"So what are you saying…"

"One gram of Black Ember for two days of yang life. I have 10g—that's 20 days of yang life. Is that unreasonable?"

It's unreasonable.

Doubling from 10 days to 20 days—how could that not be unreasonable?

But Lin Ling thought it over, glanced at Hua Wuye lying nearby, still unconscious and barely clinging to life, then gritted his teeth: "Fine, I'll take it!"

"Deal!"

As Fang Yue handed over 10g of Black Ember, his Life Order immediately gained 20 days' worth.

He drew all the yang life on his Life Order into his body.

"Yang Life: 28 days, 8 hours."

Much better! He no longer needed to worry about yang life—for now.

System Prompt: 【Guyue Village Guard Captain】 Lin Ling's favor +16.

Favor… came back…

Honestly, this guy's favor is awfully cheap.

Seeing Lin Ling about to leave after getting the Black Ember, Fang Yue hurriedly grabbed him and asked, "Captain Lin, don't rush. I want to ask—what are you planning to use this Black Ember for?"

Fang Yue currently only knew that the Black Ember could be used as medicine to make Zha Yuan Pills, which when eaten had a small chance of turning one into a strange entity; everything else was unknown.

So he wanted to ask the veterans what they usually did with the Black Ember.

Lin Ling shook off Fang Yue's hand and said impatiently, "Part of it for cultivation, part of it to treat her injuries. Also, I'll let it slide this time, but don't go probing what others use Black Ember for in the future—that's a major taboo."

Cultivation? Healing wounds?

Could this thing substitute for the consumption of lifespan during cultivation?

Fang Yue thought of the fair price Lin Ling mentioned, a 1:1 exchange—seemed quite possible.

But how exactly would one go about it?

Fang Yue still had 6g of Black Ember in hand.

Practicing martial arts consumed lifespan like this, and he also wanted to use Black Ember to replace the consumption of lifespan.

Just as Fang Yue was about to chase after Lin Ling to get a clear answer, he suddenly saw Lin Ling stop her steps abruptly, looking in astonishment toward the northern direction.

What happened to the north?

Fang Yue followed Lin Ling's gaze in confusion, looking toward the northern direction, and saw that at the edge of the crowd over there, some kind of disturbance seemed to have broken out.

Unlike the excited cheers from others, those villagers all wore terrified expressions, screaming as they scrambled to push inward, as if fleeing some disaster.

And this phenomenon seemed contagious—before long, it spread from person to person, everyone revealing expressions of terror and fear, screaming and shouting as they pushed this way.

The dark, dense mass of people surged over like a tide.

"Help! Help!!"

"A strange entity! There's still one strange entity behind!!"

"The battle isn't over! It isn't over!!"

There's still one strange entity?!

Fang Yue's heart skipped a beat—for some reason, the first thing that surfaced in his mind was that silent Chen Fu to the north of the village.

Could it be… that the strange entity inside has come out?

Lin Ling had already come over by now, her expression ugly as she said, "There's actually still one strange entity—get ready, we'll go kill it!"

We?

No no no! If it's the strange entity from Chen Fu, I absolutely have to be the first to desert!

"What? You're scared?"

Seeing Fang Yue's retreating appearance, Lin Ling gave a cold snort, passing by him: "Then let me handle it alone! I've already meditated and recovered some internal energy just now—enough to deal with an ordinary strange entity."

How could Fang Yue let him go deliver his head? He hurriedly grabbed him and briefly explained the matter of Chen Fu.

"What?! Chen Mu is dead!?"

(End of chapter)